Part 1
In this part, the examiner asks you about yourself, your home, work or studies and other familiar topics.
Do you like taking photos?
Yes, I often take pictures of my cats and dogs, also of the new decorations on holidays or celebrations. Taking photos is a very good way to keep good memories.
Do you like taking selfies?
Well, sometimes yes. Especially when I am hanging out with my friends, everyone of us will take selfies with some fashionable background.
What is your favourite family photo?
Definitely the one on my wedding day. That was a family photo of me and my husband, my parents and in-law parents, my little dog was also in the center of the picture. It was so sweet and lovely.
Do you want to improve your photography skills?
Not really, to be honest. I’m not a professional photographer, I don’t make money through that, so it’s not necessary to improve such skills for me.
Do Chinese people like to take photographs?
Yes, we do, we take pictures on holidays and festivals. Some young people even carry their cameras everywhere they go, to note down every bit of their lives.
Which kind of photos you like to take?
I enjoy taking photos for beautiful sceneries. They look magnificent and can serve as pictures or mini calendars on my desk.
How do you arrange your photos?
I usually put them into my photo albums and categorise them in an alphabetic order.
What type of photos do you like taking?
I often experiment with my camera and mobile phone camera and that’s why I like to take a wide range of photos that include nature, people, gift items, sky, river, flower and so on. However, I am inclined to take photos of people. Some of the best photos that I took were taken in unknown places where people posed for my camera. Their genuine smile, sad expression and sometimes bewilderment make the photograph worth cherishing.
What do you do with the photos you take?
After I take around 20-30 photographs in my camera or my mobile phone, I connect it to my laptop and sort out the best clicks. Then I name those phones according to the theme and prepare those to upload to my Flickr account. Flickr is a great photo storing and sharing website owned by Yahoo! and it offers enormous storage space. Sometimes, I share a few pictures with my friends on Facebook and Instagram. I usually print a photo if I want to gift it to someone or frame it.
When you visit other places, do you take photos or buy postcards? [Why/Why not?]
I used to buy postcards whenever I visited a new place with my parents in my childhood. Perhaps I did so to bring souvenirs of the places I had been to. But with the increasing use of the smartphone and cameras, we can now take our own picture and video and frame it to our digital storage. In this age of technological advancement, we are more inclined to take picture and video and then share those with friends and family rather than purchasing souvenirs, especially postcards.
Do you like people taking photos of you? [Why/Why not?]
If someone asks me firsts and I feel like being captured in a photo, I do not mind. Otherwise, I do not prefer to be in a photograph, especially with less known or unknown people. I think this is a personal choice and I am not the type of person who likes taking selfie or self-photograph now and then.
Part 2 In this part, you will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.
Describe a natural talent (sports, music, etc) you want to improve
You should say:
What it is
When you discovered it
How you want to improve it
And how you feel about it
Speaking of natural talents, I guess I may have a little talent for writing novels. I actually didn’t discover it myself, but all my friends said I was adept at writing.
Several months ago, I had a meet-up at a coffee shop with a couple of my friends. One of them was Lisa, who loves writing so much. She told us that she was planning to take part in a novel-writing competition for sci-fi novels. She had come up with a good frame for the story. But to think up something more creative, she asked us for advice and hoped to get some inspiration for the details about the aliens. So, we all expanded our imagining of aliens and had unrestrained brainstorming.
I remember I said the aliens might have existed on Earth and lived among us. And they might have observed and intervened with human civilization for some purpose. I shared a lot of my thoughts. My friends all complimented me for my unique ideas. Lisa even said I was creative and had the potential to write fiction. You know, I was so flattered.
I do enjoy reading all kinds of novels. So, what my friends said made me want to try it out. Since I’ve never written a novel, I definitely should have more writing practice. After all, the logic of writing matters a lot, which is what I think I’m lacking. Seriously, I’ll try my best to see if I can turn my talent into income one day.
Part 3 In this part, the examiner asks you a few more detailed questions about the same topic.
Do you think artists with talents should focus on their talents?
Yes, I suppose that doing art is a wonderful activity and artists should definitely take advantage of their natural talents if they have a talent for art. Art can take many different forms including painting, drawing, sculpture, and music. A lot of children really love to do artwork, but not all of them continue with their art into adulthood. I think it would be better if people who have a natural talent for art are encouraged to explore that talent throughout their lives.
Is it possible for us to know whether children who are 3 or 4 years old will become musicians and painters when they grow up?
No, I don’t think it’s possible. I mean, it might be possible in some cases. For example, child prodigies will probably be really successful later in life. And you can definitely show proficiency in some talents when you’re young. But you don’t know what kind of career path a child will choose to take, especially when malting that choice is still in the distant future. They might be an amazing painter and yet decide to become a doctor or a veterinarian. So, it’s too hard to tell at that age.
Why do people like to watch talent shows?
Well, a large part of it is because talent shows are really entertaining. You get to see fairly ordinary peopledoing cool things. Even if it’s something more regular like singing or playing an instrument, you get to see things that you might not be able to do. I think that makes it really interesting. I also think some people watch these shows sadistically, because they might like to watch the less talented contestants fail and get kicked out of the show.
Do you think it is more interesting to watch famous people’s or ordinary people’s shows?
I suppose that for the most part, it’s more interesting to watch ordinary people’s shows. Celebrities are cool, but it’s only because we all agree to find them interesting and valuable. Of course, people matter whether they’re famous or not, but with celebrities in general, they’re pretty much just like us. They’ve just had the chance to become well-known. Plus, ordinary people are usually more down to earth, and thus they’re more genuine. I think that’s more interesting than watching celebrities.